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Kerry v. Cheney: Battle of the Potty Mouths

... or Much Ado about F-U-C-K Y-O-U.

Alright, we have all likely read the news stories about Vice Presidet Cheney's remarks to Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy. We have all likely read the stories because they are in every newspaper and all over cable news. Cheney's remarks have even "sparked debates about the civility of the political tone in Washington."

All this media attention over this exchange has made me wonder, again, about how the media covers stories. For instance, if you pay attention to the news, or at least this website, you may have read that John Kerry gave a Vietnam Veteran, who was protesting Kerry for his actions after the Vietnam War, the middle finger on Memorial Day near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The story broke on News Max and was covered by a few other news outlets which did not do independant research on the story. I wanted to know if the story was legit and you can read about what I uncovered here.

That story made virtualy no waves at all, but it wasn't the only time Kerry has acted profanely while running for President. Kerry also said, in an interview for Rolling Stone, early in the primaries, "Did I expect George Bush to fuck it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did."

When Kerry said that, there was quite a bit of media attetion granted to it, but nowhere even close to the amount Cheney's remarks have recieved. I personally think that whether you are a Senator running for President or the President of the Senate and next in the line of succession, you should act in a manner above all the petty profanity and vulgarity, so both should be condemned for their actions; but this bring us back to the media coverage. Is it fair to make a bigger deal about Cheney's remarks than Kerry's remarks and actions while running for President?

On the one hand, Cheney represents the current administration and is the second highest ranking politician in office, but on the other hand, Kerry has been a Senator for what, 20 years? Kerry is also the presumptive Democratic nominee and is therefore a representative of the entire Democratic Party. Is it fair to give one more press than the other? I think this is a legitimate question and I'd really like the media to examine how they have covered each of these incidents.